Michael Higgins: Canada-U.S. relations are worse than ever under Carney and Trump

Prime Minister Mark Carney inflicted a damaging blow on Canada-U.S. relations with his Elbows Up shenanigans but this last weekend it was America’s turn take a hammer to the alliance. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was openly gloating at the prime minister being embarrassed over the Gordie Howe Bridge deal while Donald Trump said he was considering demanding Canada pay damages over wildfires in this country. 

There are many bonds that unite Canada and the U.S., such as the economy and the military, but it appears that friendship is no longer one of them. 

Gone are the days when together a prime minister and a president would belt out, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” Carney and Trump are more likely to see who can play Brutus to the other’s Julius Caesar. 

Canada and U.S. relations have been strained for some time but are plummeting to new depths. 

It was to be hoped that when Carney became prime minister there might have been a reset with the U.S. after the obvious friction between Trump and Justin Trudeau. 

As early as 2018, following a row over tariffs at a G7 meeting, Trump was calling Trudeau “very dishonest and weak.” A year later, the U.S. president called Trudeau “two-faced,” following a hot mic incident where the then prime minister and other world leaders appeared to be mocking Trump. 

Relations never really recovered but hopes rose when Carney was elected. Those hopes were soon dashed. Trump’s calls for tariffs and his repeated reference to Canada as the 51st state initiated the prime minister’s Elbows Up campaign. 

Adding to that friction was Carney’s “principled and pragmatic” speech at Davos where he insinuated that middle powers needed to fight back against American power and influence. 

Everyone knows that with Trump, politics is personal, so it was at the weekend that his long-time friend Lutnick seized on the opportunity to try to humiliate Carney. 

The prime minister’s economic guru credentials took a hit last week over the revenue-sharing deal struck with the U.S. over the Gordie Howe Bridge linking Ontario with Michigan. 

Carney said the U.S. would get a 50 per cent share of “net revenues” for 15 years but that would likely be a small amount since any revenue sharing would only occur after accounting for debt-servicing charges. Canada paid the full cost of the $6.4 billion bridge. 

But as Bloomberg first reported, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The agreement allows for revenue sharing before those charges. 

Annual interest on the construction costs is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars. If that is not part of the Canadian deal then the U.S. will get a larger share of profits. Under the original agreement, Canada was to get all the revenue until the investment was paid off. 

The disparity about the agreement is an embarrassment for Carney, but in the great economic scheme of things, the dispute is a minor issue which will be ironed out between bureaucrats. Considering that America’s GDP is almost $32 trillion, a few million here and there is unlikely to change the country’s fortunes. 

However, the fact that it has been seized on by Lutnick shows the dire depths of the relationship between Canada and the U.S. The commerce secretary seemed positively delighted in Carney’s discomfort. 

“The USA struck a great deal with respect to the Gordie Howe Bridge. Before this deal we got NOTHING. Now, the U.S. gets 50% of net revenues until 2041 and a say in setting the tolls. Our share is before interest and principal. This is the Art of the Deal in action,” wrote Lutnick on social media. 

Such triumphalism is distasteful but speaks volumes about the level of respect afforded to Carney by the U.S. administration. 

On top of this, Trump and other politicians have been lambasting Canada over the wildfire situation. 

Trump posted on social media that Canada was guilty of “wilful negligence” in allowing “filthy air” into the U.S. and threatened more tariffs. 

Michigan congressman John James, wrote on X, “FINAL WARNING TO CANADA: Manage your forests to prevent these fires. American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year.” 

Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican senator, said he would “be introducing a bill next week to sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity.” 

This pile on does not reflect the attitude of friends. It reveals, instead, a fractured relationship between the two countries. 

Neither the president nor the other politicians bothered to mention the help Canada has sent in the past to help fight U.S. wildfires. 

On Sunday night, Trump, after attending the World Cup final with Carney, suggested Canada pay damages for the wildfires which were “poisoning” American air. 

“I have a good relationship with Mark Carney but we have got to stop the fires up there,” said Trump. 

If this is what a good relationship looks like, heaven help us if it gets worse, and all indications are that it will get worse. 

National Post